As we move into the new year, I feel the need to make changes that will improve the health of ourselves and our home.
First on the docket: we threw out ALL our cleaning chemicals. I found a book that tells how to clean using 4 ingredients: Vinegar, Lemon, Baking Soda, and Salt. I also found a recipe to make fabric refresher using Vodka. I'm looking forward to not having the caustic chemicals anywhere in the house.
Second up: eating organic. This is proving to be a more complicated decision. I refuse to go full fledged into Whole Foods land, as I feel like their price point is purposefully high, and I want to do "organic on a budget." I am working on hitting up the local grocery stores to see what kind of options they offer in organic, and how hard it is to find what they have. We are getting organic fruit delivered (which I will most likely switch to fruit and veggies), and I think produce is the hardest to find variety in, so hopefully that will keep the frustration down. Market Basket (the local bargain store where we usually shop), has organic, but you have to search for it. Its not separated at all, so you really have to search your sections and target what's there. This is complicated and time consuming at the beginning, but I think as time goes on, and we have targeted our brands of choice, we might be able to make it work. Today we hit up Stop and Shop. They have some stuff separated. They have a "natural and organic" food section. This seemed good, but I think that they put all the name brands there. The nice thing about stop and shop is that they have a store organic brand. I hate the fact that normal things are more expensive there, but the organic store brand seems to not bee too far off. They even have free range meats. So, the search and figure out continues, and the next stop will be Shaws. We have a Trader Joe's too, so I'll probably have to go in there and see what they have. Baby steps.
Third on the list: Detox. This may seem extreme, but in reality, chemo puts tons of toxins in your system, and heavy metals, and I want to try and clear out my system to help it function in a healthier way. I also think it will help with energy and nutritional absorption, now that I'm going to be focusing on nutrition.
So anyway, those are the projects in the works. Cleansing home, body, and hopefully spirit. That, will take the most effort, but in the end will be the most rewarding.
To start with you can use safe cleaners like miss meyers or ecover or method.. difficult to find them cheap...but bulk buying on amazon might help.
ReplyDeleteAlso, whole food is freaking expensive but if you keep your eyes open you can always find that they have deals on things every now and then.. its not easy that way.. but I have found that with time you figure out how to shop efficiently there. I will share my experience with you in detail soon.. Just in case if that helps...
Not sure if you want to go this route or not.. but wheat grass can help you clean your body quickly and it has many other benefits.
It sounds like you have a great plan going. Good to see you doing so many positive things! It makes me smile to know you are doing okay.
ReplyDeleteIf you are looking for natural products I know of these all natural oils called Doterra that can also be used for many medicinal purposes such as colds, burns, and several ailments like IBS. They have a website and seem pretty good. My sister uses them for everything, I mostly use them for relaxation and to treat cold sores, but I've even used them on my kids to help them sleep. Anyway just thought I'd let you know about another way you can keep everything chemical free.
Good luck with your cleansing!!
Look at us wellness meats. They have great choices on free range meats.
ReplyDeleteHi Kezia. Here's a place to look into that can give you tons of info if you give them a call or shoot them an email. Good luck in your projects and remember that there are so many of use willing to help! bioraynaturaldetox.com
ReplyDeleteDo you have a Trader Joe's nearby? They have a lot of reasonably priced organic, fair trade foods.
ReplyDeleteI use seventh generation all natural products and found them to be great! They have all kinds of stuff. I order them from amazon and they show up on my doorstep with free shipping!
ReplyDeleteYou should also look into acupuncture. It's wonderful! And it does detox your body. It is should be recommended by ALL doctors for chemo patients. The benefits are numerous with little to no side effects!
ReplyDeleteYour story has opened my eyes, I am now throwing out all of my chemical cleaners. And focusing on moving to more organic (without breaking the bank) foods. I just try to focus on the dirty dozen when it comes to organic. Then eat non organic bananas and oranges, ect....
Your family is changing mine!
You may also want to consider genetic counseling. Having a young adult and a child with cancer in the same family is not usual, particularly for neuroblastomas they have recently identified a few genetic predisposition genes.
ReplyDeleteThere also seems to be a clustering of tumors based on geography in some countries. It's almost scary to think about all the factors that we're exposed to and we do not what they do to our body as if we all were part of a large experiment... The incidence of childhood cancers has been going up, especially for nervous system tumors, we're definitely doing something that's not good to our
bodies. but, we can only worry about things we can have control over. eating and living healthy is good. even if some of this may not have any effect, it makes you feel better, and that's what's important.
It has a tremendous effect.
DeleteI have a steam cleaner that I use and love. We do not use chemicals in our home either. Pinterest has a wealth of DIY cleaners and cleaning methods.If you have dry clean only items, look for an organic cleaner to take them.
ReplyDeleteIt's so much easier to eat organic in the summer. We have a wealth of awesome farmer's markets in Mass, however, it's a little tougher in the winter. We suck it up and do go to Whole Foods for some things, but I try to stick to Stop and Shop (near my home) and Trader Joe's. I am going through the process of getting rid of all processed foods. We are going to all fresh, minimally processed foods. I want the chemicals and preservatives out of our house and bodies.
I read your blog, as well as your husbands. My heart goes out to both of you.
I am glad to see you are taking steps by following those projects. The posters above suggested greatly. Me too, I am planning to eat organic food, but it is expensive and some are not what they are supposed to be or there are none nearby. I don't use any chemical products for cleaning. Vinegar is good for cleaning too. It also omit any odor. White one is the one, not apple. Yes, about those toxins in the body after chemo, they need to be cleaned. Wish you a good luck and sending a healing thought.
ReplyDeleteNourishing Traditions is a good book about getting back to basics. She has lots of good information as well as recipes.
ReplyDeletewww.eatwild.com has a good list by state of places you can purchased grass fed beef, chicken and pork. We love grass fed ground beef!
www.realmilk.com has a list by state of places you can get raw milk, if your state is like Oregon you can't get non-pasteurized, non-homogenized milk in the store, but there should be farms around you that you could purchase from.
I too have been following your story, I am so sorry for your loss and you are in my prayers.
Hi Kezia
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for all that you and your family has had to endure. Your fighting spirit is an inspiration to so many people. I was so sad to see that Saoirse had passed; she was a beautiful little girl. She touched so many people in her too short life.
As for going organic, detoxing, etc have you heard of Kris Carr? You many want to check out her website. She has a rare and incurable cancer but has kept it at bay for years after adopting a healhty life style. She has some great tips for everyone and esp for people who are new to this type of diet. And please don't put a price on taking care of yourself and being healthy! You deserve to be healthy and happy.
Hi keiza, I have been following your blog for sometime now but have never posted. I first want to extend my deepest sympathies to you and Mike on your loss. I think of your family often and I am blown away by your courage and strength.
ReplyDeleteI have written and erased this Post about 5 times now as I do not want to overwhelm, offend or overstep. I also do not know if such a thing already exists, but here goes......
While reading some of the face book posts, I had a thought. There seems to be many links ( too many...and by too many I mean so many families impacted) to blogs about NB. A lot of these blogs are by parents who have lost a child to NB and they also have a fundraising component to raise awareness and fund research to find a cure. It would be a huge task but if these parent groups were to unite in someway you would have a very large and focused group to create awareness together. It could almost be a centralized source for patient advocates, research, fundraising, and a way to create a strong unified front in your search for answers. It would be very hard for the powers that be to ignore such a large and dedicated group of people. I am thinking on a scale of 'run for the cure' that is available for breast cancer, or 'movember' for prostate cancer. After reading some of the blogs that have been created I believe that if they were to join forces such a thing could be possible. They just need to be brought together.
I hope I have not made a ridiculous suggestion or overstepped a boundary.
I send you positive thoughts.
Hi keiza,
ReplyDeleteBj's also has a surprising amount of organic food at decent prices (milk, produce, hormone free chicken, eggs, etc)
Kezia,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you know that my wife and I are praying for you. We are friends of some friends of yours and we are on 80 Centre (the log cabin). We hope to drop by to meet you and Mike if that's okay. Although we have never met, you both have been in our prayers and heavy on our hearts since we heard. We want to be available for you anytime. You both are welcome to come by anytime as well.
Shawn & Bonita
Kezia, Definitely check out Care2.com/greenliving/ ... We've got a lot of tips on how to detox your home from all the chemicals, etc. One of our bloggers -- Ann P. -- is also battling cancer. I think you'd enjoy her posts.
ReplyDeleteSue Anne
I find myself having to shop at several different locations for everything on my list. That includes Trader Joes (which I hate to do now b/c it means going to the one on 114 or on 1 =out of the way), Stop & Shop, Whole Foods, farmer's market in season, and others...it's difficult at first when you're not used to doing such a thing, but not impossible, and gets to become just part of the routine. I've found some great ideas and recipes in the magazine 'Clean Living' too. I'm not a vegetarian, but we just don't eat a lot of meat so I find a lot of things I like in those type of mags.
ReplyDeleteOh Kezia, with everything that has happened, I somehow forgot that you're still dealing with the aftermath of your own treatment, too. You are so strong to have made it through all of this with purpose and grace.
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend the New Year's Kickstart Cleanse from Whole Living Magazine. It's great for detoxing and makes you feel really good. Here is a link: http://www.wholeliving.com/152870/2012-whole-living-action-plan
ReplyDeleteI am on the 2nd week and am really loving it. Good luck with your New Year's endeavors, they are changes worth sticking to!
I haven't read through all the comments, so apologies if this is a repeat, but be sure you take all of your chemicals to a recycling center to have them disposed of properly (vs. actually throwing them away, where they will leach into the ground water and be consumed). In my city (Austin), our recycling center allows us to drop off chemicals, paints, etc once a month for proper disposal. When my (now) toddler was born, I also got rid of all chemicals. I use a combination of distilled water/vinegar/tea tree oil for my all-purpose cleaner. If you need something stronger, you can apply vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (stored in separate spray bottles - just spray one on top of the other on your counter, etc - when they mix, they will kill germs better and safer than bleach). You'll feel great not having these chemicals around - both in your cleaning supplies and your foods!
ReplyDeleteKezia, if you have a Market Basket near you, it's worth the trip. They have a decent organic selection and its a fraction of the price of whole foods and other larger chains.
ReplyDelete